Camp Crush! (Modern!Xingqiu/Vampire!Chongyun) [COMPLETED]

Act 2: Bunk Beds

With there being only one boy in the group the tradition of gender segregated sleeping quarters seemed redundant. It would be a bit much to have Xingqiu sleep by himself in the boy's hut. The camp leaders agreed to take it instead, letting the six campers share the girl's hut. Xiangling was practically dragging Xingqiu into the hut when she heard.

"Xinyan, Xingqiu can stay with us!"

The rocker put up her devil horns.
"Hell yeah! Sleepover party!"
She let loose some riffs on her already unpacked guitar. She felt naked without it, She would have brought it onto the bus if it fit.

Barbara walked up to her.
"I expected acoustic! My voice isn't made for rock and roll..."

"Don't worry, we can combine our styles and do a Barcelona!"

The aspiring idol's eyes sparkled.
"You like Queen!?"

Xinyan let out a hearty laugh:
"Who doesn't!"

Somehow Xinyan's flaming soul and Barbara's gentle personality got along, the two agreed to share a bunk bed.
Xiangling would share with Xingqiu, as decided by shy Sucrose when she refused to let go of Amber's arm while they were discussing it.

Childe arrived shorty after everyone was done unpacking and gave his best sergeant impression.
"Alright cadets! We're starting the day off with an official Tartaglia Tour of the premises! Get in line!"

Amber and Xiangling faked a salute and were first to be ready, Xinyan and Barbara managed to reach the line without interupting their conversation, Xingqiu joined them and Sucrose awkwardly went to stand behind him.

Childe spun around and paced out of the door.
"Everybody tag along!"

He marched forwards while singing in rhythm with his steps. The front of the group sang along enthousiastically, the back didn't. Xingqiu got the feeling he would be grouped with Sucrose a lot, being the only calm person. Amber and Xiangling's energies matched and Xinyan and Barbara had almost identical talents. He decided this wasn't too bad. Sucrose seemed quiet, she wouldn't get in the way of his writing.

Talent Camp was relatively well organized. One of the houses was a supply storage, full of sports and art gear. There were three dorms. Boy's, Girl's, and one for the camp leaders. Come to think of it, why did the camp leaders take the boy's dorm? Was there something wrong with their own? A mystery, Xingqiu would have to investigate later.

the last building was the mess hall and kitchen. Xiangling described the equipment as 'vintage', a very polite way to say it wasn't in the best condition. Not that she'd admit it. She had a fondness for kitchens, she had once explained that every grease spot and cupboard scratch held a story.
Xingqiu respected her opinions even if he (strongly) disagreed. To him, this was an old dirty kitchen that's been neglected for quite a while.

Once the tour was done they went back to the dorms. Zhongli was waiting for them with a stack of papers.
"You're late, Childe."

Childe smiled cheerfully as he spoke.
"Sorry, Xiangling didn't want to leave the kitchen."

Zhongli nodded.
"I've prepared a schedule for our campers. A list of mandatory activities, optional activities, and spare time. Meal scedules, what time we wake everyone up, what time the lights go out for bedtime."

Childe took the pile of paper and started handing them out, then Zhongli answered questions. Once everyone had read the scedule and was up to date Albedo took over. The first activity was a simple drawing exercise. draw your interests, introduce yourself, etc. Albedo wanted to know what they wanted to try most out of the art supplies he had brought to the camp. The group mostly talked, only making rough sketches to add to their conversation. Xiangling drew her pet dog Boba and Sucrose drew a beautiful flower from memory. Xingqiu had to admit he was impressed. She wasn't just here so Albedo could babysit her, she was just as talented as everyone else if not more.

The second activity was lead by Zhongli and Childe. A walk through the forest with accompanying descriptions of the local plantlife. Every time Zhongli introduced a new plant or creature Xiangling would ask if she could eat it. Amber loved the bunnies they ran into and Barbara regrettably accepted their group was too loud for her to get near any birds. Sucrose asked the weirdest questions about flowers they saw, using complicated language. It turned out Zhongli knew exactly what part of the flower she was refering to and how it looks in that particular plant. It was like they were speaking an alien language.

Xingqiu had to admit he wasn't too interested. He was focusing more on joking around with his friends than the walk itself. It was only once Amber tried running off after a squirrel that something interesting happened.

Zhongli reprimanded her, reminding her to stay with the group.
"It is important for us to stick together. While they don't come down
this low, this forest extends into bear territory. You are not allowed to wander on your own outside of the camp site."

Amber nodded in embarrasment. She never meant to disrespect the forest, especially not if that resulted in wild bears.

Childe turned to the group, waving to catch their attention.
"If you think the bears attack, wait until you hear about the ghosts!"

Barbara and Sucrose squeaked in unison: "G-ghosts?"

Zhongli corrected:
"There are no ghosts."

"Because nobody that sees them survives!"
Childe held his hands in front of him like a zombie and made a low growl.

Barbara and Sucrose were clinging onto either side of Amber now, shaking. Xinyan laughed loudly, her strong voice echoing through the forest.
"If a ghost comes here, i'll scare them away! BOOOOO!"

With a voice like hers that might actually work.

As the group went back to chatting, Xingqiu sped up to reach Childe.
"Are there really ghosts here?"

"Of course! And their favorite to haunt is happy campers, especially the young ones!"
He looked proud of the story he had come up with.

Zhongli shook his head.
"You have too much imagination. There aren't any ghosts."

Xingqiu tilted his head and put on a disappointed face. The same one he used when his parents told him no.
"What a shame. I was really hoping to write some scary stories..."

Zhongli sighed
This boy didn't seem too scared, maybe telling him was okay. He was here to improve his talent for story telling after all.
"There have been reports of strange animal deaths in this region. They're often missing their blood, and some people even claim to have seen a ghost boy stand over them before he disappears as if he was never there."

Xingqiu's eyes grew three times in size as he waited for Zhongli to tell him more.

"...Nobody has identified the boy, no children matching his appearance live here. As there is no proof of the ghost boy, the dead animals have been blamed on all sorts of things. I admit the official explanations are unconvincing at best but no people have been hurt. It's probably a teenager with too much free time trying to get a scare out of people."

"Of course, that makes sense."
Xingqiu pretended to agree as he memorized the details. What an amazing mystery, he had to write this all down when they got back.